Masculinity: under construction

About us

The Masculinity: under construction team members are all volunteers. Any income that is generated through small donations, will go to either location costs or guest educators.

Since Dec 2019, we work from the Atelier d'innovation sociale, 95 Clegg St, Ottawa, ON K1S 1C5, which is developing in a full blown partnership.

Alan Santinele Martino

Alan is wrapping up his PhD in sociology, where he researched how folks with intellectual disabilities have and experience sex. He has had many conversations with people about sex and sexuality, and looks forward to hearing and learning from you folks!

Ahmad Hegab

Ahmad left his career as an engineer to join Harassmap; international initiative aiming to end social acceptance of sexual harassment, then he founded MakankFein the 1st male engage initiative in the MENA region aiming to engage men and boys to end gender based violence, where he is still active as an advocate, public speaker and facilitator on gender issues. He has worked on research, policy, workshops and campaigns. Gender is the focus of his work crosscutting with other subject matters including ICT, law, culture, politics, human rights, economics, media, health and education. Ahmad received the British Council Culture Shift Award and The Local Hero Egypt Prize for his work with Harassmap.

Grégoire Laforce

Greg is above all else a father to his daughter, and a partner to his amazing wife. Coming from a military background, he has facilitated workshops for OCTEVAW since 2016, and is currently a sexual violence prevention educator within the Canadian Armed Forces. Greg also teaches tai chi, which continues to inform his approach to this important work.

Tyler Blanchett

Tyler is a Sustainability Energy Technologist who has volunteered with OCTEVAW since 2016. He continues to invest his time into the organization because they are driven to enable change, unite community, and support survivors. Tyler also co-leads a group called Masculinity: Under Construction which aims to nurture a community of masculine identifying folks to review our privileges and dismantle toxic masculinity.

Mathieu Mazur-Goulet

By day, Mathieu is a health policy analyst, where he also serves as ambassador for his organisation's Positive Space Initiative, which aims to create a more inclusive workplace for LGBTQ2S+ individuals. By night, Mathieu pursues his passion for social change through his involvement as one of the original co-creators of Masculinity: Under Construction, as well as his other interests in music, nature and personal growth. Mathieu is a proud queer, non-binary person who loves unicorns and kindness.

Jan van Heuzen

Jan has a background in Sociology and Law. He facilitated workshops for OCTEVAW since February 2016, and is currently a coordinator for the Partner Assault Response (PAR) program at the John Howard society Waterloo-Wellington. Jan loves being around people, in his time off he will flee the confines of his home, to sit in cafes.

Will Wacklin

Will is a social service worker, with his job focusing on homelessness in Ottawa. He also has his own podcast and radio show on TSN 1200 where he discusses all things basketball. Outside of work, he volunteers at a youth centre and is dedicated to being an equal partner to his wife and caregiver of his young son. Will is particularly interested in the intersection of masculinity and the world of sports and he recognizes the importance of gender and queer issues within the social service worker field.

Joël Xavier

Joël is a thirty-something francofun white gay guy who's been working in sexual health and queer/trans community since 2008. He is currently finishing his MA in Social Work at the Université du Québec en Outaouais, using participatory community-based research to look into how guys negotiate sex ethically. He collaborated on the second edition of PRIMED: A Sex Guide for Trans Guys Into Guys in 2015. He has facilitated countless workshops, panels and presentations on queer and trans well-being in university, community, government, and business settings, sometimes in hostile environments. He works hard to show love to his trans body.

Antoine Przybylak-Brouillard

Antoine is a palliative care health researcher at the Ottawa Hospital Research Institute with a background in medical anthropology. He became involved with Masculinity: Under Construction to learn more about toxic masculinity and its impact on mental health. Antoine lives in Ottawa with his wife and three pets. He is an avid cyclist, reader and film-goer.

Kira-Lynn Ferderber

Kira-Lynn is a feminist rapper known as hip-hop’s Mayor of Ottawa, now working as a prevention educator at a Florida rape crisis center and domestic violence agency. She is a popular speaker at conferences all over Canada and the U.S., and the creator of multiple international initiatives to prevent and better respond to sexual violence at bars, music venues, and festivals. Kira-Lynn was a subject matter expert and writer for Ontario’s It’s Your Shift e-learning platform to address harassment in the hospitality sector. She has trained thousands of people in anti-oppressive, anti-racist approaches to bystander intervention to help create radically safer communities, and offers workshops for youth and adults on topics including fat-inclusivity, hip-hop, and disability activism. She has been featured as a guest on CBC’s Q and The National, as well as dozens of local radio stations and podcasts. Her award-winning writing on subjects ranging from Kanye West as a religious icon to the need for free public transit has been published in outlets including The Ottawa Citizen, Now Magazine, The UC Observer, and more. Central to Kira-Lynn’s solidarity work is the knowledge that justice cannot be achieved without respect for sex workers, teenage girls, and gender nonconformists. She lives with her beloved and loud chihuahua, Hazel.

Ian K'Lark

Ian is a man of many strange hobbies. He is a burlesque emcee and producer, a martial artist, and a D&D enthusiast. He tries to bring compassion and a different, more gentle approach to masculinity to all the things he loves. Which is why Ian asked to DM a game of D&D for Masculinity Under Construction.
Ian has 8 years experience as a Dungeon Master and has had the privilege to run games for people of all sorts, and considers his table to be a safe space. While writing games specifically designed around examining masculinity is a new adventure for Ian, incorporating themes of social justice and subverting outdated tropes are right in his wheelhouse.

Atelier d'innovation sociale